2024 Gage Award Winner | MedStar Washington Hospital Center - Increasing Birth Equity in D.C.

Black families in Washington, D.C., account for 50 percent of all births in the city and 90 percent of all pregnancy-related deaths. More than 65 percent of all pregnancy-related deaths occur in D.C.’s Black-majority wards 7 and 8, where infant mortality rates are twice the city's average. Data from MedStar Washington Hospital Center’s Women’s and Infants’ Services (WIS) patients and needs assessments indicated that multiple social determinants of health (SDOH), including access to medical care, housing, food, and transportation, disproportionately affect wards 7 and 8.